Test
Introduction
If the new Tamil Netflix film Test were a cricketer, it would be probably the most expensive buy in IPL history who cannot put bat to ball. If Test were an IPL team, it would be laced with a star-studded batting lineup who fails to win the cup every single time (only a coincidence that the OTT platform that it has premiered on has traces of red and black on its logo). If Test were an International cricket team, its members would surely issue a statement – ‘Ya Toh Win Hai, Ya Toh Learn Hai’ (Either we win as a group or learn as a group). This is because it becomes increasingly difficult to sit through a film that has a backdrop of cricket, but makes no sense with the cricket portions. In a scene, you see a character Arjun (Siddharth) exclaim on how being a cricket, he equates himself to a soldier at the border. If this isn’t ridiculous enough, an out of form Arjun is also given ‘special permission’ to stay at home days before the match, just because his father has not been keeping well. Wait, it still doesn’t end there – during an ongoing test cricket match, he is even allowed to head home and return directly for the match after stumps. At this point, it was absolutely clear that the writers may not have watched a single game of cricket in their lifetime. But that is conjecture, just like MS Dhoni’s retirement for years!
Story & Screenplay
At its core, there is something to cheer about as far as the characters are concerned in Test. When you are introduced to Kumudha (Nayanthara), you see her almost longing for a child that literally defines her character. At the age of 34, she decides to opt for an IVF with a pretext that ‘this would be her final try’ as per the doctors. Her husband Sara (R Madhavan) is an MIT scholar having developed a proof of concept to decrease the pollution levels in the city, while being neck deep in debt and on the side, having no real qualms of his wife crushing on her ex, Arjun. Arjun is probably a mix of three modern day cricketers – Virat Kohli, given how he is showcased to be the star batter on the final steps of his career while not having scored a century for over three years, Saurav Ganguly, given how everyone refers to him as ‘Dada’, and how he had once stood up for an out of form teammate at some point, and Gautam Gambhir, given how he equates himself to be a soldier (lol). And so at its heart, Test almost threatens to be a mix-match of genres, but the issues arises when it gets confused about its identity.
There is a lurking issue of identity that makes and breaks its characters, even as the different worlds collide in the drama. For instance, both Kumudha and Sara are short of money that indirectly adds their connection with Arjun. On the other hand, Arjun has all the money in the world but is more concerned about his form with the bat and his place in the team, more than his wife and son who are virtually neglected throughout. And that was the issue here – there was literally no common ground to link the two worlds, something that eventually happened through a manipulated setup of spot-fixing. The point that I am making is that the seamless identity of the conflict wasn’t strong enough to build on an emotional core. You didn’t feel for any character even when they are wronged. Everything felt forced outside the cricket field due to its far-fetched plot that is similar to making the world believe that Uganda is a Champion Team in World Cricket.
The sudden switch of a character from a hapless victim of the system (that ought to have been your story), to an evil sinister with an unexpected accomplice, has got to be the most far-fetched thought in the film, except for the one that takes the cake! An ongoing test match between India and Pakistan (Yes, Pakistan) at the Chepauk! There might be nothing wrong in that you may argue, and all the cricket fans (including me) would want that to happen one day. But to give you some context of this ridiculous plot-point – the last time India and Pakistan played a test match was way back in 2007! What would you do when there are basic mistakes like this in the plot? You get distracted!
The portions involving a cricket match have got to be the most laughable ones in the drama. And I have to talk about these because the parallel plot-point of a kidnapping followed by a blackmail is just so vanilla (even the cops are clueless lol), and reeking of convenience in the writing. There is no thrill in either of the plots unfolding parallelly, but the cricket ones remain unintentionally funny! You barely spot a spinner at the Chepauk, at times even on Day 5 until the fag end of the script, you see a team celebrating even after conceding a lead (giving importance to a 100 of a player), you see the batters literally slogging in a test match, like it was a T20I all along! And ofcourse, Arjun leaves home almost like being on a 9 to 5 job, and literally walking on the field to take guard! How is that even allowed😂😂?
The writing gets even more weird in its final act. Everything happens in a jiffy – the hunter becomes the hunted, a character suddenly has a change of heart out of nowhere, people get killed randomly, and the match goes down to the wire (as expected). There is no buildup of any sort of tension even with respect to its stakeholders. And much of that had also to do with the inability of the writing to invest on its emotional core that was hollow. This escalates even further as the two plot-points meet with drastically different outcomes, one of them rather unexpected and completely illogical may I add. Even from a moral standpoint, the action of one of the characters towards the other just did not make sense due to two reasons – the stakes never ‘felt’ that high (not after a supposed emotional scene in between), and that the character was also party to the mess at one point in terms of the vested interests of the individual. It was simply laughable to say the least in an equally silly screenplay that was funnier than the dropped catches highlights package on Youtube!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are outright flat and exhibit no levels of emotions. With silly lines equating a cricketer to a soldier, the impact is next to zilch. The music is largely forgettable with not a single track standing out. The BGM is insipid, never working beyond the intended levels of intrigue and urgency wherein even the notes were so generic, for every emotion to remain buried beneath the surface! The cinematography is actually not bad with frames and camera angles effectively capturing the sport effectively (the written portions of cricket are still bad). The frames atleast try to allow you room to stay connected to the characters through some interesting midshots, while woefully being letdown with the writing and execution. The editing is a little choppy while not accounting for the organic flow in the drama. Director S Sashikanth fails to see his team through on a dodgy wicket. The execution at times is so poor that it is unintentionally funny too. The basic fundamentals of the game of cricket that is essentially the connecting thread and a catalyst in the drama, is so poor that there is no saving this drama. I would also go to an extent and say that it was embarrassing in many ways wherein neither the characters nor the conflicts add any texture to the drama that boasts of such a silly payoff. The direction is poor and just ridiculously off.
Performances
The performances remain a mixed bag in the drama too. Meera Jasmin and Kaali Venkat have literally nothing to do in the film, and are woefully wasted. Siddharth as Arjun seemingly looks disinterested in the drama, while never infusing any energy in the proceedings. Nayanthara as Kumudha is decent but her character is just so sketchy that none of her emotions are able to reach you. Kumudha remained a confused character with traits of selective cherry-picking that just didn’t sit well with me. R Madhavan as Sara is the only actor who has something to write home about. Even though the switch in his character was sudden (and he showed no traits of a sinister person before that), Madhavan does bring in an intimidating sinister energy to the plot that sets him apart. He remained the lone shining light in this ridiculously obsolete drama.
Conclusion
Test is a woefully lacklustre thriller veiled as a match of test cricket for dummies that cannot be saved even by the most powerful cricketing Gods. This match is a complete washout! Available on Netflix.
